Any tips on how to get my son to hold his own bottle?

Becky - posted on 10/29/2010

hi, my name is Becky i also have the same thing happening with my son, he just turend 11 months the 26th of this month. and he wont hold his bottle ither! he eill hold it, but when i try to have him put it in his mouth, he will just drop his hands to his sides and cry if i try to make him hold it to drink! and he dont want the seooer ither. it drives me crazy, cause when we are in the store and he wants it, i have to hold it for him, or he will just cry and cry! i try to ask people to give me ideas on how to to get him to hold it, and all they can say is he will hold it if he really wants it, tryed just letting him cry for it, but he just ends up wanting to fall asleep....i am sorry you have to deal with this, but in away, im happy to know my sons not the only one that dont hold his bottle, the way i see it is that he just wants me to hold it for him, cause he knows i will. lol . and i also tryed the holding it with his hands under mine, and he still crys about that! all i can think to say is that he will when his ready, thats what i tell myself. im sorry i could not be of much help, im trying to find some myself, if you find something helpful, could you please pass it to me? congrats on the new lil one. good luck with the bottle holding:)

Reshekia - posted on 10/28/2010

Prop him up in the corner of a comfortable soft chair. Put his hands around the bottle and then put your hands around his. Then replace your hands with a small soft blanket. Then stay sitting close where he can see you. Talk to him and even make him smile to distract him. Soon he will hold it without the blanket..hopefully.

Twila - posted on 10/28/2010

If your son is healthy then its fairly simple how to get him to hold a bottle. It goes with the same concept if you anticipate everything your baby needs before they ask for it, they never learn to ask for it. Tough love is hardest on the mommy but if you want your child to grow and into a strong independent person you've got to let him do things for himself. When he cries for his bottle or sippy cup, set it next to him. He knows what's inside at this age, he knows how to drink it. Let him figure out how to get to it like a puzzle he has to solve. It might be hard at first for both of you, and you'll want to help him but even at this early of a stage he's learning valuable life lessons. I repeat if he is healthy mentally and physically he will not starve himself with the bottle right there. It may take a few tantrums but he will get it, and be very proud of himself when he does.



I also say this as a breast feeding mother and my son is 11 months old. I was working on the laptop and he at 9 months old crawled over to me upset, I ignored him as I really needed to get an article done and he is a healthy fat baby who could wait a few minutes to feed, when I didn't respond he actually climbed on my lap raised my shirt ang got his 'teta' out himself. I was too amused to stop him. But I've noticed anytime I don't do something that he wants fairly quickly, if he wants it bad enough he will do it or go get it or what have you. My elder son was the same way and so has been almost every child I've ever cared for. I, at one point, had a small in home daycare and was a preschool teacher to 2 yr olds for a few yrs. They'll figure it out, you just have to have faith in them.

Amber - posted on 10/27/2010

ummm I would suggest definatly starting him on a sippy cup and eventually he will drink it and my son has held his bottle since he was like 3 months so no advice with that but maybe get a sippy cut with handles... my son is 11 months and already drinks out of a straw sippy cut

Stephanie - posted on 10/27/2010

I have my mother in law to thank for this one! My daughter was the same. But my MIL layed her down on the floor and popped her bottle in and helped her prop her hands up and backed away. I still give her all of her bedtime bottles so we can cuddle. Once she got used to it, I just recline her highchair and feed her her meal bottles from there. Work slowly and do a little each day. Good Luck!

Jennifer - posted on 10/27/2010

My son has never held his own bottle, but holds his sippy cup fine, so I've just switched to sippy cups earlier as they're supposed to be off them by 12 months old anyways =]

Connie - posted on 10/26/2010

Do you ever just leave the bottle with him and let him basically play with it.. he know thats his food ,he is just use to you being the one to give it to him.. try sitting him in his high chair or even sit him on the living room floor and set the bottle infront of him.. then just leave him alone( not literally) ... More than likely he will try and grab it like he does his toys.. maybe not get it to his mouth but eventually he will... And if he is hungry and ur not right there holding him he'll probably will find sum way of getting to his mouth ..

Sarah - posted on 10/26/2010

update! Good news! Marshall is now holding his own bottle!! all i did was let go of the bottle and he just put his hands straight on it and held it there...i think marsh was just being lazy

Shannon - posted on 10/26/2010

i cant say that i really went through this with my own children, but my mother-in-law did. her advice to me was to sit or lay the child down and put the bottle infront of them, if they are really thirsty they will try to get it. what i would do with my oldest was to place her hands on the bottle under mine (so she got the feel of holding the bottle) while she drank and eventually i would let go a little at a time. then when she was laying or sitting on the floor, put the bottle infront of her or on her tummy for her to grasp while drinking. i would place a blanket or pillows around her so if her bottle rolled away it wouldnt get out of her reach when she rolled over.

Laura - posted on 10/26/2010

My son still resists holding his bottle and only does it when we refuse to hold it for him (he's 11 months and 3 weeks old today). That would be my only suggestion, I guess. Make it clear to him that if he isn't holding it then he's not getting what's in it. I would suggest only doing this with water until he gets the hang of it though, otherwise it could get messy ;) Good luck!

Jessica - posted on 10/24/2010

My daughter who is just over 11m holds her own bottle and sippy cup. However, to drink it she has to be layed at at least an incline because she does not get the concept of tipping her head back while she is sitting up to drink out of either. She takes a sippy cup with whatever you give her in it but needs help tipping it up still! I just try to help her making sure that she is holding on to it, to tip it up.

Lillian - posted on 10/23/2010

I have an 11 month daughter and she has been holding her bottle since i introduced a sippy cup to her when she was 9 months old. You just have to let them get used to the idea of holding the cup then he will hold they bottle. Plus I still get that bonding time with my daughter when she does drink her bottle. That is the only time I hold her bottle or cup. Just be patient they will get the hang of it soon

Nova - posted on 10/22/2010

Try putting something he would be interested in touching around the bottle - like a fuzzy hair tie or something. Then, just leave the bottle in front of him on his high chair or booster seat tray. If he wants it, he'll have to grab it (after a few tears), and he may end up enjoying the way it feels with something fuzzy wrapped around it.

Aileen - posted on 10/22/2010

funny my two kids were night and day in this department. My oldest didn't start holding her own cup till she was like 12 months when I finally just let the cup be dropped then she would have to pick it up herself. Once I let her take the reigns and refused to intervene she started holding her own cup,. I would also give her empty cups to play with. My second never took a bottle. I nursed her then at five months I noticed she would take her older sisters sippy cups and drink from them, so that was the end she's been holding and drinking from her own sippy ever since and she's 11 months 1 week old now.

Lia - posted on 10/22/2010

I just started letting go of the bottle. he would hold it a bit then stop. i would put it back in his mouth, hold it a bit then let go again. by 7 months he got the hint and started holding it himself unless he wasn't hungry. i only did this when i couldn't hold it for him.

Sue - posted on 10/22/2010

I had the same issue. Try having a water bottle around during play-time, rather than just for meals in the highchair. That helped hugely in my case... He just got used to holding it and playing with it, and soon figured out how to tip it up (woohoo!!). Also, I had to just stop doing it for him... there were a few tantrums, but a couple of days later he's self sufficient in that department.

Emma - posted on 10/22/2010

My son has held his own bottle and sippy cup since a very early age. Once I knew he could do it by himself then on the occasions he didnt hold it himself I just used to let go if it after a few seconds. Then I'd say to him "you hold it" and bring it back to his mouth and he'd grab it. If you son is sometimes holding it himself then he is obviously able to do it he just wants you to do it for him, try letting go and he'll get the hint!! Good luck

Heather - posted on 10/21/2010

my daughter will be a year in 2 weeks. she started holding her own bottle around maybe 8 months. what i did was sit her in the floor to play and when it was time for a bottle or when i gave her a sippy cup i just sat it in the floor with her. if she wanted she would start playing with it. of course at first she couldn't really figure it out, i had to help her by putting her hand on both sides. eventually she got the hang of it.

Lindsay - posted on 10/21/2010

Mine wouldn't either. It's sheer laziness! He doesn't want to hold his arms up. I figured this out when I introduced the no spill straw cups to him. He holds that just fine! I put a bottle in front of him and he'll stare at it and cry until I give it to him. I think for him its because he's been breastfed with only a few bottles for 10 months so I can't get upset! Try the straw cups though...could be the same thing with your lil one :)

Ladon - posted on 10/21/2010

my son is eleven mths and he will not do anything but lay on his back he will not hold his bottle toys or anything

Mandi - posted on 10/21/2010

I'm not too sure about teh bottle holding, but to get Levi to use a sippy cup I bought this really neat little bottle that looks like a sippy cup but has a nipple on it. Not quite a bottle nipple, more like a straw and nipple. If that makes sense....But teh bottle itself is really skinny in the middle made for little hands. Everytime he would hold it and drink, I would make a HUGE deal out of it. Now hes a pro, just to get me to jump around and cheer like a moron in the mall. LOL

Sarah - posted on 10/20/2010

I've tried to get Marsh to hold the bottle and put my hands over his but he won't even touch the bottle

Teresa - posted on 10/20/2010

put his hands on it for him and make a big deal of him "holding" the bottle or sippy. my kids all started that way around 4 or 5 months

Emily - posted on 10/20/2010

Every child is different and you will ALWAYS have those people who "are always right" I used to read the baby book every month to see what to expect but stopped because I would get worried if my daughter wasn't doing what she should at that age.When she was about 5 months old I started propping her bottle at times to get different things done, I think that may have helped The only other advice I can offer is ask the doctor what they think.

Christina - posted on 10/20/2010

My 2 cents is don't press the issue. If you're feeling negatively or impatient about it your baby is going to feel that and only make him reject the idea more. I am sure he is capable of holding it and is choosing not too because he enjoys that time with you. Just relax, you have a few more months until your next one is here so stay in the moment and enjoy this bonding time. Remember they are only babies once ;) If by some chance your little guy is still not holding his bottle when the baby comes then maybe you can make this time a special time for you and him. Its always a good idea to create special time so your older one doesn't feel left out. He will be old enough that I am sure you won't be holding two bottles at once. Oh and by the way, after you have a couple of kids you will be surprised what you can do simultaneously!

Yun - posted on 10/20/2010

Hold his hands around the bottle every time it's time for him to feed. Eventually, he'll get it. Don't worry.

Danica - posted on 10/20/2010

My son is 11 months old & just started holding his bottle.
It takes time, just wait it will be soon.
Because I myself asked the same question about a month or two ago & now look (:
Good luck.

Lynsey - posted on 10/20/2010

well my little girl was the same.... 10 months, so i said to my husband to put her 2 hands on the bottle and our's over the top for the whole feed for a week sraight, until every last drop, so after a week she just did it without our help.... we still sat next to her till she got the hang of it

Rachel - posted on 10/19/2010

I have twins and my son has held his own bottle since he was about 6 months old but my daughter still refuses. She will hold her sippy cup to drink her water. With their sippy cups I left them on the floor where they play and they both eventually figured it out. It took about 2 weeks for them to really get the hang of it. I did show them how to use the cups but I didn't constantly try to get them to drink from them and they got the hang of it themselves.

Christina - posted on 10/19/2010

Same with my son, and he is 11 months. I'm so confused about this transition. And one of the hard things is when other people make comments... grrr.

Elizabeth - posted on 10/19/2010

my son is almost 11 mo and refuses to hold his bottle. He also has no interest in sippy cups (besides banging them on the floor). we have tried several different types of sippy cups to no avail. i'm worried that i won't be able to get him off his bottle by the time he is 1.

Jennifer - posted on 10/19/2010

We got the bottles with handles. She loves them. Maybe try one and see if he likes the handles???

Amanda - posted on 10/19/2010

Honestly It will come on its own time. My daughter was strictly breast fed till 6 months when I started switching her to bottles she refused to hold a bottle and at about 10 months I went to give it too her and she reached out and took it all by herself.

Shevanese - posted on 10/19/2010

My daughter holds her bottle (She loves to eat so she's been holding it since 2 months) and throws it on the floor when she's done and if the sippy cup has something that she doesn't want she'll throw it down. I say place it next to him and if he gets angry enough he'll pick it up. Kids are just so use to when they cry we (moms) come running. In order to get my daughter to crawl more i had to place her bottle far away from her and she cried all the way to her bottle but she crawls better now. So i had to learn that i can't run to every need i have to let her understand she has to do things for herself.

Vicki - posted on 10/19/2010

my twins are just over 11 months. they are just starting to hold the bottle but need assistance. in order to feed them right from the start I either struggled with holding both (it can be done but takes learning and patience) or do the what I never thought I'd do...the bottle propping. we bought two 'high chairs' that are perfect and cheap for this. the fisher price space savers. they are fine for newborns (although figure you'll be cuddling her/him in beginning). tilts back and tray does also. I put a small pile of receiving blankets on it and prop the bottle. now they are at the point where they are starting to hold the bottles and drink for moments. might be a solution for your older child. attaches onto a regular chair and only about 60 bucks, then converts to booster. the best!

as for the sippy cup, hit and miss. try a few different ones. or even better (which I read here somewhere) are straw cups. they love it and I was surprised they learned so fast to drink from them. someone here wrote they believe sippy cups are glorified bottles and straws actually help with oral motor or something or other development. they are actually drinking more water with them than with the sippy cups.

as for the holding own bottle, don't stress. lots of babies don't at this age. some start around 12 months to be successful with it. I work(ed) with infants and they are all different with it but they will all get it.

don't stress...lots of time til january and two months might make the difference! good luck and congrats on the new baby upcoming arrival!

Joyce - posted on 10/19/2010

Thank goodness! i thought it was just my daughter! she's 11 months this week and there is no way she will hold her own bottle especially if it has milk. she will hold a sippy cup (with juice or water) but only for a few seconds and then can't be bothered. she won't take milk from a sippy cup at all, i think it's a comfort thing x

Anne - posted on 10/18/2010

Weird! I am having another baby in January and my son is also 10 months and he too will not hold his own bottle! He will hold his own sippy cup though. I just handed him the cup, showed him that theres juice in there and let him figure it out. And I make sure not to ever hold it for him. Seems like they are just relying on us even though they know how to hold it.

Lauren - posted on 10/17/2010

my son has no interest in holding the bottle. he's 10 1/2 mos old. he's never had any interest in feeding himself. he just lets me feed him and is fine with it. even with puffs... he will play with them but not put them in his mouth. the bottle he will happily hold as a toy, but not to drink... we are trying to put his hands up but it has no effect. we got a sippy cup last week and he had no part of drinking from it, but will happily play with it... hold it by the handles and bang it around... i don't mind it much now, i am just concerned as he nears his 1st birthday that he won't figure it out and i'll still be feeding him. :P

Marina - posted on 10/17/2010

same here. my daughter will be 11 months in just a few days and WILL NOT hold her own bottle. ive also tried sippy cups and she has no interest in it, even if i hold the cup for her she wont drink from it. i think it takes extra work compared to a bottle?? she only drinks milk, and jsut recently started drinking water (seldomly though) and juice is not an option. she wont drink it.

Timeka - posted on 10/16/2010

Wow. My daughter has been holding her own bottle since she was 5 months and is tottally on a sippy and holds it. She refuse the bottles now. I dont know any ideas one how. But Like shes just got 2 teeth. most already have teeth. Everybaby is different

Sarah - posted on 10/16/2010

Maybe Your Son Just Loves That Bonding Time That You Two Have Together Whenever You Hold Him And Feed Him. My Son Is 10 1/2 Months Old And Is The Same Way. He Won't Hold His Own Bottle, But He Will His Sippy Cup, As Long As There Is Something Other Than Milk Or Water In It. Just Place His Hands On Both Sides Of The Bottles While You Hold Him And Make Sure That You Have The Bottle Tilted Some Whenever You Do That. He Will Generally Learn By This. It Helps With My Son. (:

Sarah - posted on 10/15/2010

my son is 11 months old and won't hold his bottle at all and wont hold his sippy cup if it has milk...is a little concerning for me as ive been told he should be holding a bottle by now

Jennifer - posted on 10/14/2010

My son is also ten months old and won't hold a sippy cup. He's just came off bottles all together this week so that isn't an issue thank god! You could try just using sippy cups perhaps with handles which will make it easier to hold, and it'll be less to concentrate on than bottles and sippy cups. There is nothing you can do really. My friend's daughter didn't hold her own sippy cup until she was aorund 13 months old. Baby's do things at their own pace.